"Social science makes key contributions to some of society's most pressing and costly issues, including climate change." Photograph: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

Central government is a major commissioner and user of social science research. Many departments, such as Department of Health, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Department for Work and Pensions, do this in a significant way (although amounts of spend are not visible publicly). In addition, the Government Office for Science undertakes various important multi-disciplinary pieces of analysis to inform science in government and Foresight engages in valuable horizon scanning. The Government Economic and Social Research (GESR) services undertakes its own analyses and research investigation. Autonomous units, such as the so-called nudge unit at the Cabinet Office, undertake particular interventions.

There are some very able people engaged in all of these pursuits; but nowhere does social science come together functionally in any completely holistic way.

It is true that the Heads of Analysis Group, chaired by the permanent secretary at the Treasury and a Departmental Directors of Analysis group, chaired by the national statistician, work to bring some of this together and perform a quality assurance and risk assessment function. GESR has sponsored a number of cross cutting analytical groups, such as ones on behavioural economics, the green economy and growth, localism, social cohesion, social impacts and social mobility which develop intellectual capital and evidence to inform cross departmental policy issues. But we, at the Academy of Social Sciences, argue that because neither grouping is chaired by a senior social scientist, the full benefit of these processes cannot be fully realised. Only a senior social scientist, trained in research methods and in touch with the profession on the latest thinking on a range of multi-disciplinary issues can fully bring this to bear.

There is a further issue. The government engages 20 departmental scientific advisers with particular briefs for advising their own departments on policy development, analysis and the scientific evidence base. But there has been no social scientific adviser in post since the retirement in 2010 of Professor Paul Wiles, previously chief social scientific adviser to the Home Office (and head of service for the Government Social Research service). We focus on this because this is where the influence in respect of policies and practices most lies. It is at this level where access to ministers and the government chief scientific adviser occurs directly and where formal and informal discussions about policy arise.

• Departmental scientific advisers are currently rooted in the physical, life and medical sciences. Inevitably, this restricts their ability to draw on the insights that the social science community can offer because it is not their area of expertise. There is a risk of not using social scientific tools to look at social issues – a whole branch of scientific endeavour.

• They do not have established or regular links with external communities of social scientists and are not fully conversant with the latest thinking or evidence on particular issues.

• There is a lack of strategic oversight at the senior level of the social science information needs of government as a whole.

• There is a risk that social science evidence is used inappropriately or not at all and that insufficient weight is given to the insights it can offer.

That is why we are lobbying for the appointment of a chief social scientist. This conclusion was accepted broadly by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee in its recent report.

We argue that the UK needs to have a chief social scientist again. Social science makes key contributions to some of society's most pressing and costly issues, including climate change, wellbeing, social cohesion, children and ageing. It is just too important in the national agenda not to have a seat at the top scientific adviser table where the real influence takes place.